Previews

NBA Live 2005 Dunk Preview

We take a look at some of the innovative new features found in NBA Live 2005's Slam Dunk Contest!

Spiffy:

Amazing variety of combinations; innovative mechanics; challenging enough to make you want to keep trying.

Iffy:

Might be too challenging for some people, though not for true fans!

What is it about dunking that gets people excited? Is it seeing an ordinary human fly through the air with their knees at head level? Or is it the thrill of witnessing a graceful approach and takeoff coupled with a ferocious throwdown and a scream? My guess is that while we all want to be able to do it, few of us can. After all, would everyone want to be like Mike if he was just a deadly outside shooter? With NBA Live 2005, Electronic Arts is letting people live their wildest hoop dreams, thanks to an innovative new dunk system.

Now, dunking isn't a new thing in basketball games, as just about anyone who's played one can tell you. From Julius Erving and Larry Bird Go One-On-One to NBA Street Vol. 2, throwing down has always been a big part of the game. Unfortunately, however, the methods you use haven't changed much over the years. Usually, tossing down the monster dunk is as simple as running toward the hoop, then pressing the shoot or dunk button. Voila, your avatar will take off and glide through the air for the easy two points.

Later games (such as the magnificent NBA Street series) allowed you to tweak your dunks by holding down different buttons before takeoff, but there was still something a bit too easy about the whole process. It didn't really matter how far away from the hoop you were (as long as you were in the "dunking area") or what angle you attacked from, because as soon as the animation started, it was a guaranteed two points. It was still much more exciting than stopping and popping a jump shot from the top of the key, but it never felt like a huge challenge.

Judging by NBA Live 2005's newly implemented All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest, however, it's obvious that things are about to change in a big way. Gone are the days of arbitrarily choosing a spot and taking flight. Instead, you've got to play the angles, time your leaps correctly, and, most importantly, work on your combinations. If you can perfect all of those elements, you might be on your way to entering that rarefied air reserved for dunkmasters like Dr. J and Spud Webb.

On paper, everything sounds easy enough: run towards the hoop, press a button, then hit another button in the air to perform the dunk. In reality, however, it's much harder than that, as you must get the timing down right, as well as figuring out the best spot on the floor to take off from. You've actually got to press the takeoff button a few steps before the spot, or you'll risk not giving yourself enough room to perform. Then, as soon as you takeoff, you've got to hold down the dunk button, releasing it at precisely the right moment to complete the slam. Holding it too long will cause your player to simply rein it back in and land on the ground, while realeasing too early will make him drop the ball, costing you precious seconds on the dunk clock.